Fast Catalyst-Free Synthesis of Stereoselective Polypeptides via Hierarchical Chiral Assembly.

Understanding how life's essential homochiral biopolymers arose from racemic precursors is a challenging quest. Herein, we present a groundbreaking approach involving hierarchical chiral assembly-driven stereoselective ring-opening polymerization of ε-benzyloxycarbonyl-l/d-lysine N-carboxyanhydrides assisted by ultrasonication in an aqueous medium. This method enabled a narrow dispersity within a few minutes and the achievement of high molecular weight for polypeptides, employing a living polymerization mechanism. The polymerization of l and d enantiomers yielded predominantly right- and left-handed superhelical assemblies in a one-pot preparation, respectively. Notably, stereoselective polypeptide segments were efficiently prepared through hierarchical assembly-driven polymerization of racemic monomers in the absence of a catalyst. This research offers an innovative strategy for the convenient preparations of stereoenriched polypeptides and, more importantly, sheds light on the plausible emergence of homochiral peptides in the origin of life.

The Chinese herbal prescription JZ-1 promotes extracellular vesicle production and protects against herpes simplex virus type 2 infection in vitro.

Objective: Genital herpes, primarily caused by HSV-2 infection, remains a widespread sexually transmitted ailment. Extracellular vesicles play a pivotal role in host-virus confrontation. Recent research underscores the influence of Chinese herbal prescriptions on extracellular vesicle production and composition. This study aims to probe the impact of JieZe-1 (JZ-1) on extracellular vesicle components, elucidating its mechanisms against HSV-2 infection via extracellular vesicles. Methods: The JZ-1's anti-HSV-2 effects were assessed using CCK-8 assay. Extracellular vesicles were precisely isolated utilizing ultracentrifugation and subsequently characterized through TEM, NTA, and Western Blot analyses. The anti-HSV-2 activity of extracellular vesicles was gauged using CCK-8, Western Blot, and immunofluorescence. Additionally, high-throughput sequencing was employed to detect miRNAs from extracellular vesicles, unraveling the potential antiviral mechanisms of JZ-1. Results: Antiviral efficacy of JZ-1 was shown in VK2/E6E7, HeLa, and Vero cells. The samples extracted from cell supernatant by ultracentrifugation were identified as extracellular vesicles. In VK2/E6E7 cells, extracellular vesicles from JZ-1 group enhanced cell survival rates and diminished the expression of intracellular viral protein gD, contrasting with the inert effect of control group vesicles. Extracellular vesicles from JZ-1 treated Vero cells demonstrated a weaker yet discernible anti-HSV-2 effect. Conversely, extracellular vesicles of HeLa cells exhibited no anti-HSV-2 effect from either group. High-throughput sequencing of VK2/E6E7 cell extracellular vesicles unveiled significant upregulation of miRNA-101, miRNA-29a, miRNA-29b, miRNA-29c, and miRNA-637 in JZ-1 group vesicles. KEGG pathway analysis suggested that these miRNAs may inhibit PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and induce autophagy of host cells to protect against HSV-2. Western blot confirmed the induction of autophagy and inhibition of AKT/mTOR in VK2/E6E7 cells with JZ-1 group extracellular vesicles treatment. Conclusion: JZ-1 had an anti-HSV-2 efficacy. After JZ-1 stimulation, VK2/E6E7 cells secreted extracellular vesicles which protect host cells from HSV-2 infection. High-throughput sequencing showed that these extracellular vesicles contained a large number of miRNAs targeting PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. JZ-1 group extracellular vesicles could inhibit the activation of AKT/mTOR pathway and induce the host cells autophagy.

Chinese Women's Concept of Childbirth Based on the Social Media Topic "What Does Childbirth Mean to a Woman": Content and Thematic Analysis.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, women's fertility desire has attracted increasing attention in China. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to detect attitudes toward giving birth among young female users on Douban, a very popular Chinese social media platform. METHODS: A total of 2634 valid posts from 2489 users discussing the topic "What does childbirth mean to a woman" on Douban were crawled and retained for analysis. We utilized content and thematic analysis methods to capture users' concepts of childbirth. RESULTS: The findings reveal that a significant majority of users conveyed generally neutral (1060/2634, 40.24%) or negative (1051/2634, 39.90%) attitudes toward childbirth, while only about one-fifth of users expressed positive (523/2634, 19.86%) sentiments. Notably, posts with negative attitudes garnered more replies and likes, and the proportion of posts expressing negativity exhibited fluctuations over time. Health risk (339/2634, 12.87%) emerged as the most frequently cited aspect of childbirth cost, with subjective happiness and the fulfillment of mental needs identified as primary benefits. Surprisingly, only a minimal number of posts (10/2634, 0.38%) touched upon the traditional objective benefits of raising children for old-age care. Thematic analysis results suggest that discussions about fertility on social media platforms might contribute to an exaggerated perception of health risks among women. Additionally, a lack of knowledge about childbirth was observed, partially attributable to longstanding neglect and avoidance of communication on these matters, likely influenced by traditional cultural biases. Moreover, there is a prevailing assumption that women should naturally sacrifice themselves for childbirth and childcare, influenced by the idealization of the female figure. Consequently, women may harbor hesitations about having a baby, fearing the potential loss of their own identity in the process. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate a shift in the perception of childbirth among modern Chinese women over time, influenced by their increasing social status and the pursuit of self-realization. Implementing strategies such as public education on the health risks associated with pregnancy and delivery, safeguarding women's rights, and creating a supportive environment for mothers may enhance women's willingness to undergo childbirth. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/preprints.50468.

Exploring the role of PRDX4 in the development of uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma.

Peroxicedoxin 4 (PRDX4), a member of the peroxicedoxins (PRDXs), has been reported in many cancer-related studies, but its role in uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) is not fully understood. In the present study, we found that PRDX4 was highly expressed in UCEC tissues and cell lines through the combination of bioinformatics analysis and experiments, and elevated PRDX4 levels were associated with poor prognosis. Knockdown of PRDX4 significantly blocked the proliferation and migration of the UCEC cell line Ishikawa and reduced degree of cell confluence. These findings highlight the oncogenic role of PRDX4 in UCEC. In addition, genes that interact with PRDX4 in UCEC were MT-ATP8, PBK, and PDIA6, and we speculated that these genes interacted with each other to promote disease progression in UCEC. Thus, PRDX4 is a potential diagnostic biomarker for UCEC, and targeting PRDX4 may be a potential therapeutic strategy for patients with UCEC.

The impact of pandemic mental cognition on cultural values: an empirical study based on social media.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has triggered a global public health crisis, and had an impact on economies, societies, and politics around the world. Based on the pathogen prevalence hypothesis suggested that residents of areas with higher infection rates are more likely to be collectivists as compared with those of areas with lower infection rates. Many researchers had studied the direct link between infectious diseases and individualism/collectivism (infectious diseases→ cultural values), but no one has focused on the specific psychological factors between them: (infectious diseases→ cognition of the pandemic→ cultural values). To test and develop the pathogen prevalence hypothesis, we introduced pandemic mental cognition and conducted an empirical study on social media (Chinese Sina Weibo), hoping to explore the psychological reasons behind in cultural value changes in the context of a pandemic. METHODS: We downloaded all posts from active Sina Weibo users in Dalian during the pandemic period (January 2020 to May 2022) and used dictionary-based approaches to calculate frequency of words from two domains (pandemic mental cognition and collectivism/individualism), respectively. Then we used the multiple log-linear regression analysis method to establish the relationship between pandemic mental cognition and collectivism/individualism. RESULTS: Among three dimensions of pandemic mental cognition, only the sense of uncertainty had a significant positive relationship with collectivism, and also had a marginal significant positive relationship with individualism. There was a significant positive correlation between the first-order lag term AR(1) and individualism, which means the individualism tendency was mainly affected by its previous level. CONCLUSIONS: The study found that more collectivist regions are associated with a higher pathogen burden, and recognized the sense of uncertainty as its underlying cause. Results of this study validated and further developed the pathogen stress hypothesis in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Chinese herbal prescription JieZe-1 inhibits caspase-1-dependent pyroptosis induced by herpes simplex virus-2 infection in vitro.

OBJECTIVE: JieZe-1 (JZ-1), a Chinese herbal prescription, has an obvious effect on genital herpes, which is mainly caused by herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). Our study aimed to address whether HSV-2 induces pyroptosis of VK2/E6E7 cells and to investigate the anti-HSV-2 activity of JZ-1 and the effect of JZ-1 on caspase-1-dependent pyroptosis. METHODS: HSV-2-infected VK2/E6E7 cells and culture supernate were harvested at different time points after the infection. Cells were co-treated with HSV-2 and penciclovir (0.078125 mg/mL) or caspase-1 inhibitor VX-765 (24 h pretreatment with 100 µmol/L) or JZ-1 (0.078125-50 mg/mL). Cell counting kit-8 assay and viral load analysis were used to evaluate the antiviral activity of JZ-1. Inflammasome activation and pyroptosis of VK2/E6E7 cells were analyzed using microscopy, Hoechst 33342/propidium iodide staining, lactate dehydrogenase release assay, gene and protein expression, co-immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: HSV-2 induced pyroptosis of VK2/E6E7 cells, with the most significant increase observed 24 h after the infection. JZ-1 effectively inhibited HSV-2 (the 50% inhibitory concentration = 1.709 mg/mL), with the 6.25 mg/mL dose showing the highest efficacy (95.76%). JZ-1 (6.25 mg/mL) suppressed pyroptosis of VK2/E6E7 cells. It downregulated the inflammasome activation and pyroptosis via inhibiting the expression of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (P < 0.001) and interferon-γ-inducible protein 16 (P < 0.001), and their interactions with apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain, and reducing cleaved caspase-1 p20 (P < 0.01), gasdermin D-N (P < 0.01), interleukin (IL)-1ß (P < 0.001), and IL-18 levels (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: JZ-1 exerts an excellent anti-HSV-2 effect in VK2/E6E7 cells, and it inhibits caspase-1-dependent pyroptosis induced by HSV-2 infection. These data enrich our understanding of the pathologic basis of HSV-2 infection and provide experimental evidence for the anti-HSV-2 activity of JZ-1. Please cite this article as: Liu T, Shao QQ, Wang WJ, Liu TL, Jin XM, Xu LJ, Huang GY, Chen Z. The Chinese herbal prescription JieZe-1 inhibits caspase-1-dependent pyroptosis induced by herpes simplex virus-2 infection in vitro. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(3): 277-288.

Water Structure in the Electrical Double Layer and the Contributions to the Total Interfacial Potential at Different Surface Charge Densities.

The electric double layer governs the processes of all charged surfaces in aqueous solutions; however, elucidating the structure of the water molecules is challenging for even the most advanced spectroscopic techniques. Here, we present the individual Stern layer and diffuse layer OH stretching spectra at the silica/water interface in the presence of NaCl over a wide pH range using a combination of vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy, heterodyned second harmonic generation, and streaming potential measurements. We find that the Stern layer water molecules and diffuse layer water molecules respond differently to pH changes: unlike the diffuse layer, whose water molecules remain net-oriented in one direction, water molecules in the Stern layer flip their net orientation as the solution pH is reduced from basic to acidic. We obtain an experimental estimate of the non-Gouy-Chapman (Stern) potential contribution to the total potential drop across the insulator/electrolyte interface and discuss it in the context of dipolar, quadrupolar, and higher order potential contributions that vary with the observed changes in the net orientation of water in the Stern layer. Our findings show that a purely Gouy-Chapman (Stern) view is insufficient to accurately describe the electrical double layer of aqueous interfaces.

Promising Role of Emodin as Therapeutics to Against Viral Infections.

Emodin is an anthraquinone derivative that is widely present in natural plants and has a wide spectrum of pharmacological effects, such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic and anticancer and so on. Through reviewing studies on antiviral effect of emodin in the past decades, we found that emodin exhibits ability of inhibiting the infection and replication of more than 10 viruses in vitro and in vivo, including herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), coxsackievirus B (CVB), hepatitis B virus (HBV), influenza A virus (IAV), SARS-CoV, viral haemorrhagic septicaemia rhabdovirus (VHSV), enterovirus 71 (EV71), dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV-2) and Zika virus (ZIKV). Therefore, this review aims to summarize the antiviral effect of emodin, in order to provide reference and hopes to support the further investigations.

Integrating network pharmacology and experimental validation to decipher the mechanism of the Chinese herbal prescription JieZe-1 in protecting against HSV-2 infection.

CONTEXT: The Chinese herbal prescription JieZe-1 (JZ-1) is effective against HSV-2 (Herpes simplex virus type 2) infection. However, its mechanism remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To explore the mechanism of JZ-1 in protecting against HSV-2 infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using the methods of network pharmacology, the hub components and targets were screened and functionally enriched. We established a genital herpes (GH) mouse model and observe the disease characteristics. Then, the GH mice in different groups (10 per/group) were treated with 20 µL JZ-1 gel (2.5, 1.5, and 0.5 g/mL), acyclovir gel (0.03 g/mL), or plain carbomer gel twice a day. The symptom score, vulvar histomorphology, and virus load were measured. The critical proteins of caspase-1-dependent pyroptosis were analysed by microscopy, co-immunoprecipitation, western blotting, and ELISA. Molecular docking was also performed. RESULTS: Network pharmacology analysis identified 388 JZ-1 targets related to HSV-2 infection, with 36 hub targets and 21 hub components screened. The TCID50 of HSV-2 was 1 × 10-7/0.1 mL. JZ-1 gel (2.5 g/mL) can effectively reduce the symptom score (81.23%), viral load (98.42%) and histopathological changes, and significantly inhibit the proteins expression of caspase-1-dependent pyroptosis in GH mice (p< 0.05). The molecular docking test showed a good binding potency between 11 components and caspase-1 or interleukin (IL)-1ß. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrated that JZ-1 protected mice from HSV-2 infection and inhibit the caspase-1-dependent pyroptosis in GH mice. It is of significance for the second development of JZ-1 and the exploration of new drugs.

Exploring the Changes of Suicide Probability During COVID-19 Among Chinese Weibo Users.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threatens people's physical and mental health, globally, and it may even trigger suicide ideation and suicidal behavior. Aims: We aimed to examine the impact of COVID-19 on suicide risk by sampling Chinese Weibo users and analyzing their social media messages. Method: We predicted the probability of suicide (including hopelessness, suicidal ideation, negative self-evaluation, and hostility) of Weibo users in order to assess the changes in suicide probability at different times. Repeated-measures ANOVA was performed to examine the differences in suicide probability in different regions during different periods. Results: There was no significant difference in suicide probability between profoundly infected areas (PIAs) and less infected areas (LIAs) before the outbreak of COVID-19. LIAs had an increase in hopelessness during the COVID-19 growth period, while hopelessness and hostility in PIA increased during the COVID-19 decline period, indicating potential suicide probability. Limitations: Results should be interpreted with caution, and cross-cultural research may be considered in the future. Conclusion: COVID-19 has a dynamic impact on suicide probability. Using data from online social networks may help to understand the impact pattern of COVID-19 on people's suicide probability.

JieZe-1 Alleviates HSV-2 Infection-Induced Genital Herpes in Balb/c Mice by Inhibiting Cell Apoptosis via Inducing Autophagy.

Objectives: Genital herpes (GH) is a common sexually transmitted disease mainly caused by herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2). JieZe-1 (JZ-1) is an in-hospital prescription that has been used in Tongji Hospital for many years to treat various lower female genital tract infectious diseases. Our previous study showed that JZ-1 can protect against HSV-2 infection in vitro by inducing autophagy. However, whether JZ-1 can protect against HSV-2 infection in vivo, and the underlying mechanisms involved still remain unclear. Therefore, this study was designed to address above questions. Methods: 8-week-old female balb/c mice were injected intravaginally with HSV-2 to establish GH model. The symptom score, body weight, and histological examination were recorded to assess the animal model of HSV-2 infected and the therapeutic effect of JZ-1. Inflammatory response was determined by detecting inflammatory cells infiltration and local cytokines levels. After then, under autophagy inhibitor chloroquine application, we measured the levels of cell apoptosis and autophagy and investigated the relationship between enhanced autophagy and cell apoptosis. Next, the classic PI3K/Akt/mTOR axis was examined, and in vitro experiment was carried out for further verification. Results: Our results showed that JZ-1 administration significantly reduces symptom score, increases weight gain and alleviates histological damage in HSV-2 infection-induced GH in balb/c mice. JZ-1 administration obviously ameliorates inflammatory responses with reduced T-lymphocytes, T helper cells, macrophages and neutrophils infiltration, and local IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α and CCL2 levels. HSV-2 infection leads to massive cell apoptosis, which was also restored by JZ-1. Meanwhile, we found that HSV-2 infection blocks autophagic flux in vivo and JZ-1 administration induces autophagy. After chloroquine application, it was observed that the inhibition of autophagy is strongly associated with increased cell apoptosis, whereas the promotion of autophagy remarkedly decreases apoptosis. These results suggested that JZ-1 inhibits cell apoptosis in GH by inducing autophagy, which was further supported in later in vitro experiment. Additionally, PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway was also downregulated by JZ-1 administration. Conclusion: Our data demonstrated that JZ-1 can alleviate HSV-2 infection-induced GH in balb/c mice by inhibiting cell apoptosis via inducing autophagy, and the underlying mechanisms may be associated with the inhibition of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.

The Chinese Herbal Prescription JieZe-1 Inhibits Membrane Fusion and the Toll-like Receptor Signaling Pathway in a Genital Herpes Mouse Model.

Chinese herbal prescription JieZe-1 is effective for genital herpes with no visible adverse effects clinically. It showed an excellent anti-HSV-2 effect in vitro. However, its mechanism of anti-HSV-2 effect in vivo remains unclear. This study was designed to evaluate the anti-HSV-2 effect of JieZe-1 and berberine in a genital herpes mouse model and explore the underlying mechanism. The fingerprint of JieZe-1 was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. First, we optimized a mouse model of genital herpes. Next, the weight, symptom score, morphological changes, viral load, membrane fusion proteins, critical proteins of the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, cytokines, and immune cells of vaginal tissue in mice at different time points were measured. Finally, we treated the genital herpes mouse model with JieZe-1 gel (2.5, 1.5, and 0.5 g/ml) and tested the above experimental indexes at 12 h and on the 9th day after modeling. JieZe-1 improved the symptoms, weight, and histopathological damage of genital herpes mice, promoted the keratin repair of tissues, and protected organelles to maintain the typical morphology of cells. It downregulated the expression of membrane fusion proteins, critical proteins of the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, cytokines, and immune cells. The vaginal, vulvar, and spinal cord viral load and vaginal virus shedding were also significantly reduced. In summary, JieZe-1 shows significant anti-HSV-2 efficacy in vivo. The mechanism is related to the inhibition of membrane fusion, the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, inflammatory cytokines, and cellular immunity. However, berberine, the main component of JieZe-1 monarch medicine, showed no efficacy at a concentration of 891.8 µM (0.3 mg/ml).

Methylene blue embedded duplex DNA as an efficient signal stimulator of petal-like BiVO4 for ultrasensitive photoelectrochemical bioassay.

Conventionally, the photoelectrochemistry relies on freely diffusive signal molecules in solution to stimulate the photocurrent output, leading to limited sensing strategies. Herein, we showcase the methylene blue (MB) embedded duplex DNA for efficient signal stimuli and its application for ultrasensitive photoelectrochemical (PEC) bioassay. Specifically, the MB embedded duplex DNA scavenged the photogenerated holes of petal-like BiVO4 efficiently, and thus greatly augmented the anodic photocurrent output. Taking the miRNA-21 as a model target, whose biorecognition reaction was aided by the rolling circle amplification (RCA) reaction to finally produce an amplified amount of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) with embedded MB on the photoelectrode's surface, a "label-free" and "signal-on" PEC biosensing platform was implemented with ultra-sensitivity and high selectivity. The proposed strategy could detect miRNA-21 in the concentration range of 5.0 fM to 10 nM, with the detection limit as low as 0.3 fM. This work opens up the utilization of redox substance intercalated duplex DNA for an efficient signal stimulator, which hints the prospect of other more intercalators embedded DNA for versatile biosensing purposes. Importantly, considering the large quantities of bioreactions that involve duplex DNA as reactants/products, the developed signal transduction strategy may further find wide applications in bioanalysis for targeting more analytes.

The in situ formation of a hole-transporting material on bismuth tungstate for innovative photoelectrochemical aptasensing.

We present the in situ formation of a hole-transporting material (bismuth hexacyanoferrate) on the surface of bismuth tungstate aimed at an innovative photoelectrochemical strategy. This approach enabled a competent aptasensing platform for chloramphenicol that was amenable to homogenous, label-free, and split-mode detection.

Barriers and facilitators to implementing measurement-based care for depression in Shanghai, China: a situational analysis.

BACKGROUND: Measurement-based care (MBC) is an evidence-based practice for depression, but its use by clinicians remains low. Enhanced MBC (eMBC), which uses digital technologies, can help to facilitate the use of MBC by clinicians and patients. Understanding factors that act as barriers and drivers to the implementation of MBC and eMBC is important to support the design of implementation strategies, promoting uptake by clinicians and patients. OBJECTIVE: This situational analysis identifies barriers and facilitators to the implementation of standard and eMBC at mental health centers in Shanghai, China. METHODS: We used mixed methods to develop a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing MBC and eMBC implementation in Shanghai. This study took place across three mental health centers in Shanghai. We used situational analysis tools to collect contextual information about the three centers, conducted surveys with n = 116 clinicians and n = 301 patients, conducted semi-structured interviews with n = 30 clinicians and six focus groups with a total of n = 19 patients. Surveys were analysed using descriptive statistics, and semi-structured interviews and focus groups were analysed using framework analysis. RESULTS: Several potential barriers and facilitators to MBC and eMBC implementation were identified. Infrastructure, cost, attitudes and beliefs, and perceptions about feasibility and efficacy emerged as both challenges and drivers to MBC and eMBC implementation in Shanghai. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study will directly inform the design of an implementation strategy for MBC and eMBC in Shanghai, that will be tested via a randomized controlled trial. This study contributes to the emerging body of literature on MBC implementation and, to the best of our knowledge, is the first such study to take place in Asia. This study identifies several factors that are relevant to the equitable delivery of MBC, recognizing the need to explicitly address equity concerns in global mental health implementation research.

Longitudinal Change of Mental Health among Active Social Media Users in China during the COVID-19 Outbreak.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, every day, updated case numbers and the lasting time of the pandemic became major concerns of people. We collected the online data (28 January to 7 March 2020 during the COVID-19 outbreak) of 16,453 social media users living in mainland China. Computerized machine learning models were developed to estimate their daily scores of the nine dimensions of the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the SCL-90 dimension scores between Wuhan and non-Wuhan residents. Fixed effect models were used to analyze the relation of the estimated SCL-90 scores with the daily reported cumulative case numbers and lasting time of the epidemic among Wuhan and non-Wuhan users. In non-Wuhan users, the estimated scores for all the SCL-90 dimensions significantly increased with the lasting time of the epidemic and the accumulation of cases, except for the interpersonal sensitivity dimension. In Wuhan users, although the estimated scores for all nine SCL-90 dimensions significantly increased with the cumulative case numbers, the magnitude of the changes was generally smaller than that in non-Wuhan users. The mental health of Chinese Weibo users was affected by the daily updated information on case numbers and the lasting time of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Exploring the Psychological Effects of COVID-19 Home Confinement in China: A Psycho-Linguistic Analysis on Weibo Data Pool.

BACKGROUNDS: With the rapid spread of COVID-19, strict home confinement has been implemented in most parts of Chinese regions. Millions of people were not allowed to leave their homes except for special reasons. Home confinement plays an essential role in curbing pandemic and promoting preventive behaviors, but it may affect individuals' mental health as well. OBJECTS: The objective of this study was to explore the psychological impacts of home confinement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We collected more than 150,360 Weibo messages from 5,370 Chinese active users, and then extracted psycho-linguistic features from these messages. Psycho-linguistic analysis was carried out using the 2 (confinement vs. non-confinement) × 2 (before vs. after confinement) repeated measure analysis of variance (RM ANOVA). RESULTS: The results showed that the frequency of positive emotion words was remarkably decreased during home confinement [F (1,5368) = 7.926, p = 0.005, η2 = 0.001]. In high-endemic subgroup, home confinement also reduced the frequency of exclusion words [F (1,3445) = 4.518, p = 0.034, η2 = 0.001] and inhibition words [F (1,3445) = 10.154, p = 0.001, η2 = 0.003]. CONCLUSION: Home confinement caused a decline in the use of positive emotion words. This indicates that home confinement can increase the frequency of negative emotions. The changes of exclusion words and inhibition words in high-endemic areas may be related to the high epidemic threat and the urgent need for social distancing in these areas.

A linguistic study of Chinese Weibo users who lost their only child.

The loss of an only child is one of the most painful life events and creates tremendous change in its parents' lives. Analyzing parents' online language use may help to better understand their loss, especially their psychological process. This study compared the online word use of 228 lost-only-child (LOC) parents to that of their peers. We also tracked the change in word use for a subset of these parents (n = 36) quarterly during the first 2 years following their bereavement. The implications of the word use of Chinese LOC parents for mood, parent-child bond, and lifestyle are then discussed.

Preparations of NiFe2O4 Yolk-Shell@C Nanospheres and Their Performances as Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

At present, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have received widespread attention as substantial energy storage devices; thus, their electrochemical performances must be continuously researched and improved. In this paper, we demonstrate a simple self-template solvothermal method combined with annealing for the synthesis of NiFe2O4 yolk-shell (NFO-YS) and NiFe2O4 solid (NFO-S) nanospheres by controlling the heating rate and coating them with a carbon layer on the surface via high-temperature carbonization of resorcinol and formaldehyde resin. Among them, NFO-YS@C has an obvious yolk-shell structure, with a core-shell spacing of about 60 nm, and the thicknesses of the NiFe2O4 shell and carbon shell are approximately 15 and 30 nm, respectively. The yolk-shell structure can alleviate volume changes and shorten the ion/electron diffusion path, while the carbon shell can improve conductivity. Therefore, NFO-YS@C nanospheres as the anode materials of LIBs show a high initial capacity of 1087.1 mA h g-1 at 100 mA g-1, and the capacity of NFO-YS@C nanospheres impressively remains at 1023.5 mA h g-1 after 200 cycles at 200 mA g-1. The electrochemical performance of NFO-YS@C is significantly beyond NFO-S@C, which proves that the carbon coating and yolk-shell structure have good stability and excellent electron transport ability.

Examining the Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown in Wuhan and Lombardy: A Psycholinguistic Analysis on Weibo and Twitter.

Many countries are taking strict quarantine policies to prevent the rapid spread of COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019) around the world, such as city lockdown. Cities in China and Italy were locked down in the early stage of the pandemic. The present study aims to examine and compare the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on individuals' psychological states in China and Italy. We achieved the aim by (1) sampling Weibo users (geo-location = Wuhan, China) and Twitter users (geo-location = Lombardy, Italy); (2) fetching all the users' published posts two weeks before and after the lockdown in each region (e.g., the lockdown date of Wuhan was 23 January 2020); (3) extracting the psycholinguistic features of these posts using the Simplified Chinese and Italian version of Language Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) dictionary; and (4) conducting Wilcoxon tests to examine the changes in the psycholinguistic characteristics of the posts before and after the lockdown in Wuhan and Lombardy, respectively. Results showed that individuals focused more on "home", and expressed a higher level of cognitive process after a lockdown in both Wuhan and Lombardy. Meanwhile, the level of stress decreased, and the attention to leisure increased in Lombardy after the lockdown. The attention to group, religion, and emotions became more prevalent in Wuhan after the lockdown. Findings provide decision-makers timely evidence on public reactions and the impacts on psychological states in the COVID-19 context, and have implications for evidence-based mental health interventions in two countries.